World War II, was with no doubt, a cruel warfare which took place from 1939 – 1945. The war extended throughout Europe, South Pacific Ocean, and Eastern Asia. The root causes of World War II are associated with the aftermath events of World War I and the impacts of the Treaty of Versailles, whose institutionalization led to the end of the World War One. One of the numerous stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles was for Germany to recognize their responsibility in triggering the Great War; this is commonly referred to as Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles or the War Guilt Clause. The harsh restrictions imposed on Germany prompted a state of exasperation among the Germans such as Adolf Hitler who rose to power after Paul von Hindenburg resigned from the presidency position in Germany. Although Hitler is frequently perceived as the face of fascism, he was also the leader of the Nazi party, a German Socialist Party. The fascist ideology was initially founded by Italy’s Benito Mussolini. Benito Mussolini intended to re-develop the Great Roman Empire through the implementation of the totalitarian rule and the reinforcement of the fear of communism. In the year 1939, Mussolini and Hitler endorsed the Pact of Steel thereby, forming an alliance during the Word war two, which was commonly referred to as the Axis Powers. After the failure of the Axis powers in World War II, multiple fascist groupings disassembled and it was in fact banned in certain regions. 1 The paper will critically analyze how the development of totalitarian systems and the rise of communist and fascist ideologies prompted the Second World War.
During the inter-war period, there were certain conditions that enhanced the fascist ideologies. The combined elements of the tremendous economic depression, the rising threats of communism, and the strategies of a few ruthless and charismatic personalities prompted the desperation of the German and Italian populace which, in turn, led them to seek for an alternative for democracy. The available substitute was fascism and the support of a totalitarian leadership. Fascism relates to a bureaucratic political structure in which the state is accorded all the power; it is based on the uttermost nationalism strategy which is mainly focused on military sovereignty to manage the population. Fascism was also found on militaristic conceptualizations of discipline, unrelenting compliance to jurisdiction, physical power, and courage. 2 In nations such as Germany, Hitler strived for a people’s society, and his goal was attained through governmental dictatorship and military control. Multiple fascist organizations displayed their imperialistic goals, for instance, Mussolini, who sought to extend his territory into North Africa. Fascism and Totalitarian systems were highly displayed by Mussolini. In the year 1922, the Fascist Party under the leadership of Benito Mussolini rose to power in Italy. Being found on a powerful central government and the stern control of the people and the industry, Fascism was a response to the apprehended fear of communism and the incompetence of the free market economics. In spite of its highly militaristic nature, Fascism was also propelled by the sense of belligerent nationalism which encouraged conflict as a way of social advancement. By the year 1935, Mussolini succeeded in establishing himself as Italy’s dictator and he transformed the nation into a police state. The Nazi dictatorship through the implementation of Fascism established a totalitarian state. The Nazis based its total grasp of the individuals on terror, coercion, and control. Within its initial weeks of power, concentration camps were established and secret police hunted down those who tried to oppose the Nazi ruling. In the year 1934, the elimination of communist parties and the murder of its leaders was instituted by Hitler with the help of the Nazi party. Hitler was well aware that the church could pose a serious rivalry with regards to the loyalty of the people. The concordant agreement with Vatican in the year 1933 assured him of lack of interference in his active politics from the Catholic Church. 3
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In Germany, the fascist ideology was adopted by the Nazi Party, a National Socialist German Worker’s Party. Swiftly rising to dominance during the late 1920s, the Nazis under the leadership of Hitler, their charismatic leader, adopted the core doctrines of Fascism while also supporting the idea of ethnic purity among the German population and the extension of the German Lebensraum. Taking the advantage of the economic calamity in Weimar, Germany the Nazis grew into a strong political force. On 30 th January 1993, Adolf Hitler was put in a position which enhanced his capacity to assume power when he was designated the Reich Chancellor position by Paul von Hindenburg, the German President during that period. A month following Hitler’s appointment the Reichstag building burned. Inculpating the Communist Party of Germany for causing the fire, Hitler took advantage of the incident and used it as an excuse to debar the communist political parties that opposed the Nazi strategies. On the 23 rd of March 1923, the Nazis basically assumed government control by sanctioning the Enabling Acts. As an emergency measure, the Enabling Acts accorded the cabinet the power to validate legislations without Reichstag’s approval. Hitler’s preceding move to enhance the consolidation of his power was to implement a purge of the party to get rid of those who acted as threats to his position. He began persecuting those who were considered the state’s racial enemies. 4 Hitler passed the Nuremberg laws aimed to deprive the Jews of the citizenship in September 1935; this law forbade sexual relations or marriage between an Aryan and a Jew. After three years, the initial pogrom was executed; 30,000 Jews were arrested and over hundred Jews were murdered. The arrested Jews were sent to concentration camps. On the 16 th of March, 1935, Adolf Hitler commanded the German remilitarization; this was a clear breach of the Treaty of Versailles. As the German Army developed through recruitment strategies, the other European authorities expressed minimal protest because they were more concerned with the implementation of the economic features of the treaty. In an approach that tacitly validated Hitler’s breach of the treaty, The Great Britain approved the 1935’s Anglo-German Naval Agreement; this allowed Germany to construct a fleet which ended the British naval processes in Baltic. 5
Two years following the commencement of the military expansion operations, Adolf further breached the treaty by arranging the German Army’s reoccupation of the Rhineland. Incorporating cautiousness in his proceedings, Hitler issued commands of the withdrawal of the German troops in case of an intervention by the French army. France and Britain avoided any sort of intervention and opted for a resolution by the League of Nation; this bore little to no success. Emboldened by the reaction from France and Great Britain with regards to Rhineland, Hitler went forward with a strategy of reuniting the German-speaking individuals under the regime of ‘Greater German.’ Operating in breach of the treaty, he also made overtures associated with the annexation of Austria. The German Army crossed the border to institute the annexation; this had been repudiated by the Vienna Government. Hitler then started supporting paramilitary initiatives and radical aggression in Sudetenland. After the Czechoslovakia’s martial law declaration in the territory, German promptly requested that the land be delegated to them. In retaliation, France and Great Britain assembled their respective armies. As Europe progressed towards the warfare, Mussolini proposed a conference to debate about Czechoslovakia’s future. The meeting was held at Munich in September 1938. During the negotiations, France and Great Britain’s leaders developed an appeasement policy and agreed to the demands of Hitler to avoid the existence of war. The Czechs despite not being invited to the conference, were forced to comply with the agreement. 6
After a certain period, the agreement was broken by the German troops whereby, they seized the remainder region of Czechoslovakia. Germany then made a military alliance with Italy. Stalin entered into talks regarding a potential alliance with France and Britain, following what he perceived as the colluding of western powers. The Soviets instituted discussions associated with the development of the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. Tensions had existed between Poland and Germany with reference to the “Polish Corridor” and the Danzig free-city since World War 1, Hitler instituted plans for the Poland invasion. Poland’s army which had been formed after WW1 was ill-equipped and relatively weak as opposed to the German army. Poland hand initially formed military alliances with France and Great Britain, to enhance its defense strategies. Assembling their army along the border, German’s organized a fake polish attack on 31 st August 1939. Germans’ Using this as a war pretext, they flooded across the border the following day. On the third of September, France and Great Britain presented an ultimatum to Germany to terminate the war. Both nations then declared war following the lack of a response from Germany. In Poland, the execution of a lightning war using mechanized infantry and combining armor was instituted by the German troops. The Poles tried to counter-attack the Germans but were defeated during the Battle at Bzura. The Soviets, acting under the terms of the pact agreement, invaded from the East following the ending of the war at Bzura. 7
Bibliography
Miron, Guy. The Waning of Emancipation: Jewish History, Memory, and the Rise of Fascism in Germany, France, and Hungary . Wayne State University Press, 2011.
Piffer, Thomas & Zubok, Vladislav. Totalitarian Societies and Democratic Transition: Essays in Memory of Victor Zaslavsky. New York: Central European University Press, 2016
Tillich, Paul. "The Totalitarian State and the Claims of the Church." Social Research, 82, no. 1 (2015): 49-77
1 Miron, Guy. The Waning of Emancipation: Jewish History, Memory, and the Rise of Fascism in Germany, France, and Hungary ( Wayne State University Press, 2011), 13.
2 Tillich, Paul. "The Totalitarian State and the Claims of the Church." Social Research 82, no. 1 (2015): 49-77
3 Tillich, Paul. "The Totalitarian State and the Claims of the Church." Social Research 82, no. 1 (2015): 49-77
4 Miron, Guy. The Waning of Emancipation: Jewish History, Memory, and the Rise of Fascism in Germany, France, and Hungary ( Wayne State University Press, 2011), 19.
5 Tillich, Paul. "The Totalitarian State and the Claims of the Church." Social Research 82, no. 1 (2015): 49-77
6 Piffer, Thomas & Zubok, Vladislav. Totalitarian Societies and Democratic Transition: Essays in Memory of Victor Zaslavsky (New York: Central European University Press, 2016), 23
7 Miron, Guy. The Waning of Emancipation: Jewish History, Memory, and the Rise of Fascism in Germany, France, and Hungary ( Wayne State University Press, 2011), 25.
